Behind the Scenes
by Zim's-Best-Friend
Summary: Title may change. What happens when the cameras stop rolling, and the characters step off the set? Well, here's your chance to find out. Zim must fight to keep his show, while the network makes room for new shows.
1. Prologue

Yes, I know I should be working on "Cheating the Hellhounds"!! But this has been in my head since the very first chapter of "Music Based Friendship"…that's like…almost two years!! I must write this now…It cannot wait any longer!!

**DISCLAIMER**: I do not own Invader Zim or any of the characters. I am not claiming that I do!

* * *

_Behind the Scenes_

Zim stood in front of a blown up monitor, his base in ruins and his clothes scorched from the fast explosion. "My Tallest!!" he yelled to the blank screen, trying to get contact with his leaders back. He turned at the sound of someone coming near, facing a beat up Dib.

"You jerk," Dib said in a calm, hateful voice. His clothes were just as scorched, with smoke still rising from his jacket. He then collapsed to the ground, his hand still outstretched and his face hitting the cold tile.

"Cut!"

At that, Dib rose. He dusted off his jacket, not noticing someone walking up beside him, dowsing him with cold water from a glass to get the smoke off. He shook his head, annoyed, and then walked off the set.

"Nice work, guys!" Steve Ressel shouted, turning to a couple other people.

"Yeah, whatever," Zim said with a sigh as he smoothed out his shirt. He stepped off the set, walking into the network of various people, some rushing to get the actors what they needed, others talking and laughing. Zim paid them no mind as he casually walked; he did his best to avoid the cables sprawled out over the floor, and various cameras that stood in his way.

He glanced over, seeing Dib sit in a chair with his name on it. Andy Berman sat next to him, helping him remember the lines for the next episode. A woman stood behind Dib, fixing his hair into the usual sythe shape.

To his left, Zim saw Gaz sitting with Ian Graham and Melissa Fahn, also reading over her lines.

"What?! That's the only line I get?!" Gaz shouted, crumbling up her script. "Really? 'You mean besides you?' That's it?!" She got up, throwing the script on the ground, while Ian and Melissa flinched, fearful of the little girl. "Ugh…I'll be in my trailer," she mumbled, storming off.

Zim laughed a bit as he looked away. Gaz was such a diva.

The Tallests stood by the snack table, stuffing their faces with doughnuts, chips, and Irken soda. Red looked Zim's way, greeting him as he walked up to the table, reaching for an Irken soda.

"Hey, Zim," Red said before shoving another mouthful of chips in his mouth. He watched as Zim popped the top of his soda and took a large sip of it before saying anything back.

"Hey," Zim said as he looked up at Red and Purple. He couldn't help but stare as they opened another bag of chips. "Jeez…How many of those are you gonna eat?"

"Hey! We worked hard today!" Purple said with his mouth full.

"Yeah…Sitting in a chair, having only a few lines to say for only a couple scenes, must really wear you out." Zim rolled his eyes as he took another sip of his soda.

"Whatever," Red said with a shrug. He and Purple looked away from Zim, turning their attention back on the snack table.

"Hey, Zim!"

Zim looked back at Kyle Menke, who was a distance away. "Yeah?"

"Jhonen wanted to see you!" Kyle looked away from him to see Kevin Manthei hand him a track of music for one of the new episodes to be aired the next day.

"What for?!"

Kyle shrugged, turning back to Zim. "Since when does Jhonen give reasons?"

"Very true," Zim said, turning away and walking away from the Tallests, who were gorging themselves yet again.

Finishing his soda, Zim crushed the can and threw it to the ground, where it was quickly picked up by one of those assistants who he considered nameless. Zim continued his way to the very back of the large production room, where the light was dimed.

Here, in this nearly empty part of the building, was a lone door. A "Caution" sign hung halfway underneath a dusty name plaque with "Jhonen Vasquez" engraved on it in a messy way.

Zim sighed, walking closer to the dark, eerie room. The one that was more like a black hole, where most people who went in never came out, or so it seemed. The room that Jhonen Vasquez called his office.

Eventually getting to the door, he vanished behind it, closing it behind him, hearing the squeak of its hinges.

* * *

And that's it! I've had this in my mind for so long…As I said before. I really hope no one else has done something exactly like this, and if someone has…then I'm sorry. I didn't know!

This is only the first part…And WILL remain a one-shot for a while. I have other stories to finish…And hopefully I will, lol. This was just sample of what I have in mind.

Please review. No flames, please!!


	2. A Bit of Bad News

Well, with "Cheating the Hellhounds" completed…I might as well update this story.

**DISCLAIMER**: I do not own Invader Zim or any of its characters. I am not claiming that I do!

* * *

_Chapter two: A Bit of Bad News_

"You wanted to see me?"

Zim's eyes had to adjust to the dim light in Jhonen's office. The door creaked as he closed it some, taking a few more steps into the room. He could see Jhonen's dark outline as he sat in a chair, turned away from the door and the outside world.

"What?" Jhonen turned away from whatever he was watching on the computer screen, away from whatever was making horrifying pig squeals, which was obviously not a pig. "Oh, Zim…How nice of you to _finally_ show up."

"Yeah, well Dib kept screwing up his last line," Zim said with a shrug. "Honestly, how hard could 'you jerk' be to memorize and say correctly?"

"You're not so perfect when it comes to memorizing lines yourself, Zim." Jhonen sighed and leaned back in his chair, turning off his computer as he did so. He looked over at Zim, seeing a pout on his face. "Well, that's something to discuss for another day. For now, there's something much more important to focus on."

"What?" Zim crossed his arms. He never liked being in this room, or even near Jhonen.

"The Network…again," Jhonen sighed again as he ran a hand through his orange-highlighted hair. "They're causing problems, again."

"What's the problem now?" Zim rolled his eyes. The people who ran Nickelodeon always had a problem with his show. And yes…_His_ show.

"They're threatening to pull the plug…permantly."

"What?!" Zim uncrossed his arms and stood in a dramatic pose with his eyes wide. "When? How?!"

"Soon…That's all I know. The ratings are low and, apparently, they don't find the show's humor appropriate for preteens."

"Ratings? Those ratings would be fine if they would just keep the show in a real timeslot! Do they really expect countless kids to stay up till four in the morning to watch Invader Zim?!"

Jhonen shrugged. "I guess so."

"We're not even done with the second season! We've barely started on it! They can't just cancel it in mid-season…That's breaking the contract!"

"Look, the Network seems to have their own rules. If we fall through the cracks…Well, then I guess there's nothing we can do." Jhonen looked down to a pencil on his desk. It was chewed up, and the eraser was missing.

"How could you be so calm about this?!"

"I'm doing the best I can!" Jhonen's eyes snapped away from the pencil and to Zim. "I've already got them thinking about letting us at least finish the Christmas episode."

"But that's cutting another episode out of the way! Won't people be confused?"

"Let the writers handle that, Zim. For now, that's the best I can do. I'm still trying to get them from dropping the show altogether, but I'll need time," Jhonen's voice was low, as he was trying to keep himself calm. He leaned in his chair, yet again, and spun it around, facing his computer.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"You're the star, remember? At least, that's what you always say...Why wouldn't you be the first to know?" Jhonen had glanced back, then looked away.

"…But…"

"That will be all, Zim." Jhonen's hand could be seen waving in the air, dismissing Zim.

Zim stood there for a moment, watching as Jhonen turned his computer back on, letting the creepy sounds erupt from the speakers, again. He sighed, irritated, then turned and walked out, closing the door behind him.

Zim looked on to the various people. He saw how Dib was now on another set, a scene that didn't include Zim in "Backseat Drivers from Beyond the Stars". It was later in the episode, towards the end, and he knew he was going to be called to do a part himself soon.

Tak was standing nearby, watching how Dib reacted to her voice recording. It wasn't often that she was on the set, or even in the building, so having her there was a real treat.

Hey, just because Zim and Tak were mortal enemies in the show, doesn't mean they couldn't be nice to each other when the cameras were turned the other way. Did that mean they were friends? No. Zim wasn't friends with co-workers; he had no friends.

Gir was sitting in his own chair off to Zim's right. He sucked happily on a Suck Monkey, the tail on his doggie suit wagging. His sucking noises were irritating, but at least he wasn't bouncing around, ruining everyone's hard work like usual. Unlike the other characters, who were only acting with their personalities in the show, mostly that it, Gir didn't change when he stepped off the set.

Minimoose was the same. Though, no one besides Jhonen even knew what his "personality" even was. Minimoose had only been around a couple weeks, in preparation for the Christmas episode, and all he ever did was float around and squeek.

Zim sighed, seeing that the studio was quiet; he could hear as Dib shouted his lines, trying his best not to mess up. It was moments like this that allowed Zim to think, to concentrate on what he was doing. He should have been using this time to read over his lines, like Gaz and the Tallests were currently doing.

"Zim!"

He looked up at the sound of his name.

"You and Gir still need to finish the last few scenes!" Roman Dirge shouted, turning away from Dib as he drank some water.

Zim rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he said, walking towards the set. Gir ran past him, screaming with excitement as he pulled off his dog suit. The little robot didn't notice that it had landed on Zim's head when he flung it back.

Zim pulled the green costume off, growling as he dropped it to the floor.

"This job sucks."

* * *

And that's the end of the second chapter.

Sorry if any of you were hoping for Jhonen to be some insane guy…I wanted him to act like an adult…a creepy adult…

Wondering where the characters came from? You'll learn in the next chapter (I don't even know yet, lol)


	3. Going Out With a Bang

**DISCLAIMER**: I do not own Invader Zim or any of its characters. I am not claiming that I do!

_Chapter Three: Going Out With a Bang_

"So…That's the current situation."

Everyone looked at Jhonen, who had just announced the soon-to-be cancellation of the show. Production had come to a halt as everyone glanced to one another, unsure of what to say. Jhonen crossed his arms, waiting for someone to talk.

"What will happen to us?"

That seemed to be the question everyone seemed to mentally ask. Nervous eyes looked to Dib, then to Jhonen. "I'm really not sure. I guess what happens to every all characters of cancelled shows…"

What was Jhonen talking about? The poor characters of an animated show when it ended…Like what happened to the casts of "Rocko's Modern Life", "CatDog", "Hey Arnold!", and many others. See, when a show, like Invader Zim, shows so much promise, so much dedication from the creator, the characters become real. They still look animated, but they're alive. They're just as real as you or me.

You won't find that anymore. The animated shows today are just corporate slaves, put up just so the Network can make kids mindless, little zombies.

So…What happens when a show with real characters is cancelled? Those characters vanish. They slowly disappear, their body chemistry seeing them as "obsolete". Where do they go? No one's really sure…It could be another planet, dimension, or…nowhere. They could just fade away, never to be seen ever again.

It was quite sad really.

The crowd dispersed, seeing that Jhonen had slinked back to his office without another word. Two episodes were to be completed, and then they would have to start work on the Christmas episode. The last episode.

No one spoke, besides the occasional words between working co-workers. The characters, including Zim, stood around. The minor and background characters, as well as the few number of cameos, stood looking at the main characters.

"Well…We better get to work," Dib finally said as he walked away. He got several nods of agreement from the classmates and Gaz as they left, too.

"Wait!"

They turned to look at Zim.

"We can't just give up! This is our show…Look at all the hard work we put into it! We can't just let all that go to waste…Not like this!" Zim stood in a signature, determined pose. He had his antennae flattened against the top of his green head, staring at the others.

"What else is there to do, Zim? Jhonen tried…and not even he was able to stop the ending of the show." Dib looked around at the people surrounding him, seeing how they seemed to agree.

"Well…Why don't we go there ourselves?"

"What? That's insane! We can't risk exposing ourselves!"

Dib was right. It wasn't only a rule to not show one's animated self outside the perimeter of the show's production building, but also just plain common sense. The fangirls were rabid enough; they didn't need them or anyone else to figure out the characters were real.

Zim looked around, growling a bit as the people around him began to disperse, clearly not on his side.

"Sorry, Zim. I know this is _your_ show and all…But there's nothing anyone can do about it." Dib walked away, his hands shoved in his pockets. He and the others left Zim standing alone, in the poorly lit part of the production building, not too far away from the closed door of Jhonen's office.

Zim stood there, staring at the ground.

He hated this…feeling. This "defeated" feeling. He knew that if this was on an episode, he would've shook it off and kept on going. He would've figured something out. But that wasn't him. He wasn't like that when he stepped off the set, when the cameras were turned off. He was determined, and prone to easy outbursts, but…he just didn't have the same drive as his character portrayed in the series.

This…just wasn't fair.

He didn't have a script for this. He didn't know what to say.

Is this what the other poor cancelled characters felt before fading away into oblivion? Like Rocko, Arnold, CatDog, Ren, or Stimpy? Did they feel this way? Did they even know it was coming? He wasn't sure; though, he wished he did.

He could storm the Network, make them take back their horrible decision. But the main building was pretty far away; he would have to pass several people along the way, along with a large parking lot. He would be seen no matter what he did.

On the show, he would've tried it anyway. He wouldn't have given it a second thought. But this wasn't the show.

What else was there, but to go out with a bang? To fix mistakes, to make short-lived friends, and make the best episode ever?

That was insane. "I have no mistakes!" Zim harshly whispered to himself. And it was true—Right? "Of course!" Zim crossed his arms.

But he could make the last episode the best. He nodded his head, a sad smile on his face as he walked away. The lights were beginning to shift, trying to fix the lighting for a particular scene.

Invader Zim was going out with a bang.

**_End of chapter_**

Yeah…Probably not my best chapter. I know a lot of you wanted Zim to go trash the Nickelodeon building. But I think that's been done before. I'm not sure…But there are two more chapters.

Yeah, not the happiest chapter ever. I'm sorry…But it's going to get worse. Well…Only for the next chapter. The very last chapter is a very special surprise ;)

Just to say, the song I listened to for this chapter, with the same mood of it, at least to me, is: All the Right Moves by One Republic.

Next chapter will be up soon! :)


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